Do Blind Subjects Differ from Sighted Subjects When Exploring Virtual Tactile Maps?

The access to graphical information is difficult for individuals who are blind or visually impaired. Taking advantage of the residual sensory abilities such as touch is one way to solve this issue. However, it is not yet clear if blind subjects perceive new tacto-spatial information in the same way that sighted people do. In this work we code the discovery of unknown tactile virtual objects in terms of subjective and behavioral variables, which result to be in-dependent on visual deprivation and dependent only on task difficulty. Our methodology can be employed in educational, orientation and mobility protocols.